Thierry Henry knows Barca will face Arsenal

From the heart: Thierry Henry was not offended when Cesc Fabregas said Arsenal were better off without him

By Patrick Barclay

12:01AM BST 14 Oct 2007

There was a brief pause in the conversation; from the restaurant terrace you could almost hear the Mediterranean washing the Catalan shore. And Thierry Henry asked: "You heard what Cesc said?" I had been wondering if he would bring that up: the interview Cesc Fabregas gave the other week in which it was stated that Arsenal had benefited from Henry's transfer to Barcelona. Less experienced players, according to the burgeoning young Arsenal midfielder (himself a Catalan, plucked by Arsene Wenger from the Barcelona youth ranks), had not found it easy to adjust to the overwhelming influence of the club's principal performer, whose presence had tended to "inhibit" them. Henry knew the remarks had caused quite a stir in England, and declared: "I agreed with them completely."

When Fabregas had rung to explain, Henry continued, he had told his anxious former clubmate not even to think of apologising because every quoted word (if not some of the more mischievous headlines) had his endorsement. Other players had, indeed, taken the opportunity to shine brighter since he left in the summer, which was exactly what the manager would have wanted. Not only that: "Because of my seniority, the fact that I was captain and my habit of screaming for the ball, they would sometimes give it to me even when I was not in the best position. So in that sense it was good for the team that I moved on." There had been other reasons, such as the departure of David Dein, the senior director responsible for Wenger's extraordinarily fruitful stewardship, and allied uncertainty over Wenger's own future. "I thought that put a question mark over my future. I was 30, and I had the chance to join Barcelona. I just thought the time was right."

As, of course, was the place. There may be 1,000 miles between the Emirates Stadium and the Camp Nou but, in terms of footballing culture, Arsenal and Barcelona have become neighbours since Wenger began his transformation of a north London club seldom hitherto accused of distracting themselves from the pursuit of trophies through a preoccupation with aesthetics. "It was definitely one of the things I considered when I left. With all due respect to other clubs who believe winning is everything, for me it's also how you win." The beautiful game? ''You can call it that. I'd just call it playing. I'm not saying it's the only way, because it's been shown on paper that you don't always win that way. But for me Arsenal and Barcelona are the two best teams in the world in terms of their approach to the game."

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He was haunted by a dreadful premonition that, having negotiated the group stage of the Champions League — Barcelona encounter Rangers in Glasgow on Tuesday week, while Arsenal are at home to Slavia Prague — they will meet. He could hardly bear the thought. So why was he smiling? ''It's a nervous smile! I truly cannot envisage having to walk on that pitch at the Emirates Stadium with another club's jersey on. A friendly on a neutral ground, say, would be a bit easier, but playing in front of those fans who gave me so much — it's going to be difficult. It's going to be weird seeing the people who work at the stadium and then going out to play against guys to whom I still send good-luck texts before every Arsenal game. OK, Patrick Vieira went through it when he came back with Juventus — a lot of players have been through it at a lot of clubs — but I don't even want to think about it, to be honest. I just know it's going to happen." With a giggle and a mock scream, he went on to talk about the ''special feeling" between him and Arsenal's support. ''I couldn't have asked for more. They didn't know how many times I went out on the pitch injured — only I and the boss knew — but they knew I always gave 100 per cent for the club. Sometimes it was enough, sometimes not. But you can't forget eight years of joy and pain, happiness and sadness.

''I never could hide my emotions, either. I know sometimes I was criticised for it by people who said I should smile a bit more, but it was to do with my way of staying focused, of constantly trying to improve. It must have looked odd. I was striving for perfection because, given that perfection is impossible, it keeps you concentrated.

''So when, for example, I scored a goal and all the other players were happy around me — I was happy inside — people wanted to see the same expression of joy from me. But all I could think about was the goal I had missed before. I was always asking myself, 'How can you score a difficult goal like this when before you missed an easy one? We should be 2-0 up, not 1-0'. That was what was going through my head — a sort of anger. I was never satisfied."

The highs made Henry the brightest star in the Premier League's relatively brief but spectacular history. The lows he found just as easy to identify. They prominently featured the FA Cup final defeat by Liverpool in 2001 and, inevitably, the fall at Europe's final hurdle in 2006, when Barcelona came from behind to triumph at the Stade de France. ''I stand by what I said after that game," Henry declared, by which he meant that the club he now represents had more help than the dismissal of Jens Lehmann.

''How many times did they kick me in the first half? And nothing! Then I made a tackle, got the ball — and was shown the yellow card! So many decisions in that game went Barcelona's way, and were proved later to be wrong."

Henry had one more season at Arsenal, injury restricting him to fewer than half of their matches, before sitting down with Wenger to arrange his farewell. ''Arsene understood. He always understands. He was not just my boss, but my confidant — I can't say a friend, because we didn't talk every day or go out for dinner together — and we still keep in touch. I hope we always will. He is a great human being. Amazing — there is no other word to describe him, especially with the game being as it is and the constant pressure to get a result, because he keeps faith in you and what he has always believed about the way the game should be played. He proved himself right so many times. Like when he said the team could go through a season unbeaten. When they lost, everybody laughed — but the next season they did it. Arsene sees things before everybody else."

The difference Henry found at Barcelona was, he said, ''massive". Not in terms of everyday life within the club — ''Arsenal and Barcelona are more or less run the same way" — but in public. ''You need to be seen, you need to be touched. Because here you are representing not just a club but a country — Catalunya. With another club you might arrive at the back of the airport and take a private passage to the private plane. Here they give you a ticket and say, 'See you at Gate 29'. And you just walk through everyone. It's like being in a herd of cows.

''Trust me, you wouldn't want to be Ronaldinho. From the moment we get to the airport to when we get to the plane, he's out of sight, buried under people. There's also a big difference at the training ground. At Arsenal we had the press in only on Friday — and you spoke only if you wanted to. Here it's every day. And if Thierry Henry so much as spills a drop of water on his shoes, it's in the papers the next day. They tell you who's scored in the five-a-sides, who's played well and who has not. Everything is open. Only on the day before the game do we close the doors so we can do set-pieces and so on. But even then the press get to find out."

No longer is Henry the centre of attention. Not with Ronaldinho around. ''Rightly so. It's his club. I've just arrived. Don't get me wrong, with Lionel Messi, Samuel Eto'o, Deco, me — you can go through the whole squad — there are always people around. But Ronny's in a different league." Speculation that he might fancy a move to England's big league with Chelsea, allied to adverse comments about his attitude to fitness, nevertheless led to something of a critical onslaught earlier in the season. ''Lots of people were having a go at him in the media," Henry said. ''It just showed how fragile football can be. One day you're a king, the next you're getting hammered. But the fans supported him, protected him, and he deserved that." What was he like? Henry grinned. ''He's just an old kid. Everything is for fun. It's a Brazilian thing — let's just go out and play."

Asked if he thought any of his team-mates deserved greater attention, Henry had no hesitation in naming the little midfielder Andres Iniesta. ''He killed us [Arsenal] in that Champions League final. When he and Henrik Larsson came on, the whole game changed. Iniesta reminds me of Paul Scholes. Maybe Scholes plays more long passes — Iniesta uses short balls all the time.

''But what a player! He's up there with Deco and Xavi in combining skill with hard work. When they don't have the ball, they can go out and get it. In a previous era, there was Pep Guardiola. Barcelona produce these players. Look at Cesc. OK, he's been at Arsenal since he was 16, but you can tell he was educated at Barcelona. Already he's as good as anyone around. He's not one for the future. He's already there. He can play in any company."

The tradition to which Fabregas is heir fills Henry with pride. ''I played a part in it," he said, ''although full credit must go to Arsene. It would not have happened without him." Henry has confessed — as has Dennis Bergkamp, his erstwhile partner and the only player who, it could be said, influenced the Arsenal style more heavily — that he has little taste for scoring ugly, or even plain, goals, which makes his status as Arsenal's leading scorer (with 226 goals in 369 matches) all the more remarkable. He reiterated it thus: ''I am not a natural-born striker. I score goals, yes, but not the usual centre-forward type. I can't let it happen, can't let the ball come to me. I have to make it happen. I like to take charge." And impart an adornment or two, a flourish? A touch of artistry? ''I like to use my imagination. At the end of the day, the most important thing is that the ball goes in. But, if you can do in style, do it in style."

The game was about all sorts and, Henry was at pains to say, he admired those who made goals for others. ''That's why I always feel for Emile Heskey. Yes, he's not one of the best scorers in the world in terms of goals per game, but if you ask Michael Owen if he'd like to play with Heskey, he'll say, 'Yes, please, every time'. Heskey does a job that people don't appreciate. But I'd like to play with him. These players are vital. How many goals did Alan Smith and Anders Limpar set up for Ian Wright? How many did I get from Robert Pires, Dennis Bergkamp and Kanu? With Kanu it's easy. He shields it and you just run around him, he slips it to you and — boom! He doesn't score 25 a season. But without him I couldn't have scored 25 a season. These guys have to get more credit."

It seems Henry no longer reads the English papers every day; otherwise he would have known about the sudden vogue for Heskey. And it looks as if the Premier League — if not north London, where he is convinced that terrible Champions League fate awaits him — has seen the last of Henry. ''I could never play for an English team other than Arsenal," he said, ''and that is not going to change."

Thierry Henry: 10 YouTube moments1. Thierry Henry, Nike Joga Bonito Ad – “Play Beautiful”.Watch YouTube2. An assortment of Thierry’s skills, goals, and celebrations, put together from the beginning of his career at Monaco through to his Arsenal days. Watch YouTube3. Henry is unveiled at Barcelona. Watch YouTube4. Henry’s debut for Barcelona in pre-season friendly at Dundee Utd. Watch YouTube5. Thierry misses a penalty but makes the rebound count to score his first goal for Barca. Watch YouTube6. Henry’s first hat-trick for Barcelona in 4-1 win at La Liga rivals Levante. Watch YouTube7. Thierry Henry talks about his game, his style, and his music in another promo advert – this time for Reebok (his latest sponsor). Watch YouTube8. Henry condemns Brazil to a quarter-final exit with his winning goal for eventual finalists France, at the 2006 World Cup in Germany. Watch YouTube9. Henry proves he is a hit all over the world, this time on ‘Reckless Challenge’, the most popular comedy variety show in South Korea, which he guest starred on June 9, 2007. Watch YouTube10. Henry’s Arsenal farewell montage featuring his best goals and tricks at the club. Watch YouTubeCompiled by Matt Lawless